Blog (Archive)

Get out that whistle, mama, and start designing winning plays on the whiteboard of your heart because you have a game to win! The day that you became a mother is the day that you were given the heavenly responsibility of coaching your child for victory in every game in life.

The presence of a great coach must dominate all of the practice sessions before the big game. If you want your child to walk in victory and to be a champion, then you must be present and be the loudest voice at daily practices. The players don’t come up with winning plays … the coach does.

Rehearse with your pre-schoolers what is going to happen when you drop them off at the church nursery, “Mama and Daddy are going to go into the adult service and you are going to play with some of your friends in the classroom. You are going to learn about Jesus and sing songs and make a craft and even have a snack! Mama and Daddy always come for you … always.” And then, like a good coach always does, act out the play and make sure that your child is playing his or her position well.

When your children are school-age and need some extra reinforcement about how to behave with siblings or with friends, “O.K. … let’s practice. Let’s pretend that Nathan won’t share with you and you have your feelings hurt. How should you act?” And then, act it out. Put them through the drills so that when they are in the game of life, they remember what their position is on the playing field.

When your children are entering the tee-age years, rehearse scenarios with them that might involve profanity, drugs, alcohol or how to act with the opposite sex. Teams that win games have the most thorough and demanding practices.

Your coaching philosophy is vital if you long for your children to stay the course and have champion-like attitudes. You are their coach not their friend. You are their teacher not their teammate. There must be swift and serious discipline for not staying with the game plan set by Coach Mom.